How Long Does the Eviction Process Take After Foreclosure?

The process of taking a home through foreclosure, from beginning to end, is extremely different in every state. Depending on where a property is located, different types of foreclosure will be pursued, different terms will be used to describe a foreclosure auction, homeowners may receive many notices of the process or very few, and the time frames will range from a few months to over a year. One of the few relative constants in all of this, though, is the eviction process that is used after foreclosure to remove the homeowners from their property.

The eviction process usually lasts about 2-4 weeks, in most cases. It is a straight-forward legal mechanism where the new owner (usually the foreclosing bank) will prove that they now own the property and wish to take possession of it and remove any people and personal items still remaining. The bank will file a motion with the court asking that the sheriff be ordered to evict the former homeowners and their belongings. The bank will usually have no problem proving to the court that they now own the house, as the agents of the court ordered the granting of the foreclosure judgment, scheduled the sheriff sale, and signed off that the foreclosure auction was valid.

Once the order goes to the county sheriff, it can take just a few weeks for the sheriff to give the homeowners notice of the pending eviction and then they will show up a few days later to remove the people and property and change the locks. At this point, the homeowners should have moved out already, because it will be almost impossible to get more time to stay in the house, especially after missing numerous mortgage payments, working through various methods to stop foreclosure, and then enduring a lengthy foreclosure process. So the actual eviction process is relatively straight-forward with few possible outcomes, compared to all that goes on before it.

However, when this process starts at all varies widely by state. One of the first steps that homeowners should take in trying to save their homes is to look up their state foreclosure laws to find out if they have a redemption period either before or after the sheriff sale. Some states give them extra time to remain in the property after the auction, when the bank can not start the eviction process. This is a redemption period and it can not be denied to the homeowners by the bank or the court system, as it is guaranteed under state law. But the state law will also provide the time frame in which the homeowners will eventually find themselves put into the foreclosure process, and they should have a final plan for how to avoid this and get out of the house before being kicked out.

Some states grant foreclosure victims a 10 day redemption period, others have 6 months, and some even have a year after the sheriff sale that the homeowners can use to remain in the house and attempt to pay off the redemption amount. During all that time, the bank can not try to evict them by force, although they may offer a cash for keys deal or otherwise attempt to persuade the homeowners to leave the house prematurely. In this case, the bank may be able to take over the house early, to protect it from vandalism or damage. But, they can only start the eviction process once the redemption period has ended, regardless of whether or not the homeowners have some workable solution that would stop foreclosure in the end.

So the best way for homeowners to find out how much time they have before being evicted is to look up their state foreclosure laws to find out how much time the entire foreclosure process will take. Otherwise, there is a very real possibility that they might move out too soon or find out about the eviction too late. If they move out too soon, they will lose valuable time to save money for an emergency fund and repair your credit. If they do not hear about the eviction until a few days before the sheriff shows up to remove them, then they may not have anywhere to go. Either possibility should be avoided, if at all possible, and homeowners can protect against either with the right information.

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